Manchild at Play: Jokermania
I’ve always had a little bit of an obsession with Batman, particularly when it comes to the Joker. I don’t know why I’ve always had this fascination with the purple-dressed pale-faced psychopath, especially since I do suffer from coulrophobia1. My fascination started with Jack Nicholson’s portrayal in the Tim Burton 1989 Batman movie, and has got a lot stronger since.
I ordered several figures a while back and, due to some strange scheduling and re-scheduling on the part of the shipping, fate’s conspired to have all of them released at the same time and empty out my bank account. Among the deliveries there were a few Jokers, so just for kicks I thought I’d share a few of them.
Batman Comics New 52 “Leatherface” Joker
Rather aptly, this figure arrived in October just in time for Halloween. In case you haven’t heard (and unless you’re a comics fan you almost certainly wouldn’t have), recently in the comics the Joker had a surgeon cut his face off and then he disappeared for a year. He announced his return by breaking into Gotham PD and retrieving his face, only to turn it into a grim mask2. In a story I still haven’t read at the time of writing, he tested Batman and it all turns out that the whole “face removal” thing is the punchline for a joke of some sort.
I’m not entirely sure why I felt compelled to order this version of the Joker – I figure it’s such a unique take on the character that it’s a nice memento that will be good to look back on. The figure itself is nicely detailed and the little toolkit accessories are a good touch. The outfit itself is a visual joke on the Joker’s part – he’s intending to “fix” Batman, as he feels that the Bat has become weakened by his allies.
The design is part of the (from what I’ve read thus far) amazing storyline “Death of the Family“, written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Greg Capullo. This figure makes for a really good item to commemorate what will be remembered as a classic Batman storyline in years to come.
1966 Batman TV Series Cesar Romero Joker
I’ve always been a fan of the 1966 Batman TV series. It’s bloody good campy fun, and I didn’t realise that the merchandising rights were a complete copyrighted unholy mess until it was announced that the issue had been resolved, meaning merchandise ahoy!
Mattel announced that they’d be producing a figure range based on the likenesses of the TV show’s actors, and they didn’t disappoint. The Cesar Romero Joker figure is a complete representation of the actor’s portrayal. It’s got his more stocky frame, the garish magenta is the right shade and, one of my favourite touches, one of the hands has a pointing finger. That’s important because the 1966 TV Joker made wild gestures a lot, such as pointing in the air3.
Most importantly the figure has a moustache. In case you didn’t know, Cesar Romero infamously refused to shave his ‘tache for the role, so if you look closely you can see his moustache under the face paint.
I’ve also got “Surf’s up Batman”, based on the episode where the Joker and Batman had a surfing contest. It’s a thing that happened, and it’s glorious.
These are probably the first Batman figures my mother has actually approved of. Go figure.
Batman: Arkham Origins Video Game Joker
I ragged on Batman: Arkham Origins a while back long before it was released – truth is, it’s not a terrible game. It’s got some good moments, but it just doesn’t quite measure up to the previous two games. However, I did like the game enough to want to get the “Arkhamverse4” versions of various characters, and the younger versions of some of the characters I already own (as Origins is a prequel game to the original Arkham Asylum game).
I really like the simplicity of the young Joker’s design in Origins – it’s just a purple leather coat over a rather neat waistcoat and shirt. You get the feeling this is long before his costumes get outlandish, back when he was more practical and just starting out.
I’ve also got the Arkham Origins Bane. It’s clear that Bane only makes an appearance in the game to cash in on the recent Dark Knight Rises film, but the design is nice to own as it shows Bane before he took the serum that bulked him out in the previous two games.
Jokermania!
So there you go: three different Joker figures based on three different Jokers from three different mediums (the comics, TV and video games). It just goes to show how many varieties of personality and style you can get from one character.
But wait! There’s more! I gathered up the random Joker figures around my house and put them together for one big photoshoot. A lot of these figures are from the halcyon days5 of when Hasbro (or “Kenner”) had the Batman merchandising rights. Some of the pics include figures from the “Legends of Batman” and “Legends of the Dark Knight” figure ranges, which are all pretty obscure these days6.
- Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. I don’t know why I don’t like clowns, I think it stems from a clown jack-in-the-box I had as a kid that screamed horribly (or in the very least had a squeaker that was far too loud) when it popped open. My mild fear also extends to mascots – I get a little bit twitchy around people in full body costumes, which is apparently called “masklophobia”. I don’t know how I’d react to being dumped into a furry convention, I’d probably lose my shit both metaphorically and literally. ↩
- In a gruesome touch, as the story goes on the mask gets more rotten. By the end there’s flies buzzing around his head. Gross stuff! ↩
- It also means you can recreate Mark Hamill’s favourite Joker moment. “I won’t be happy until you take that man-” *Point* “-and put him in that coffin-” *Point* “-and then place the coffin in that vat of acid there!” *Point* ↩
- “Arkhamverse” is the term used to refer to the Batman video games, as they have their own separate continuity from the comics and the films. It’s the merging of the words “Arkham” and “universe”, just in case you’re a bit thick. Yes, I’m being patronising. ↩
- I had to look up “halcyon”, which apparently means calm. I just like the phrase. ↩
- Specifically, the figures featured are “The Joker” (which my parents had to send to Germany for), “‘Laughing Man’ Joker” (the pirate) and “Laughing Gas Joker” (which is a big bulky figure because his jacket pops off to reveal the skinny body inside clutching a bomb). ↩
Post by Sean Patrick Payne+ | December 1, 2013 at 7:34 pm | Action Figures, Batman, Manchild at Play (Toys), Villains | 4 comments
Tags: 1966 TV Batman, Arkham Asylum, Arkham Origins, Batman, Batman comics, Cesar Romero, DC Collectibles, DC Comics, Mark Hamill, the Joker, they're just toys!